The 10th Ersatz Division (''10. Ersatz-Division'') was a unit of the
German Army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The division was formed on the mobilization of the German Army in August 1914.
[10. Ersatz-Division (Chronik 1914/1918)](_blank)
/ref> The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.
Formation and recruitment
The 10th Ersatz Division was formed on mobilization from 12 brigade replacement battalions (''Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillone''). Each brigade replacement battalion was numbered after its parent infantry brigade, and was formed with two companies taken from the replacement battalion of each of the brigade's two infantry regiments. Thus, collectively, the 12 brigade replacement battalions represented troop contributions from 24 different infantry regiments. The division represented a broad cross-section of the German Empire. The units of the 25th Mixed Ersatz Brigade were from the VII Army Corps area, which included the Prussian Province of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...
, the Lower Rhine portion of the Prussian Rhine Province
The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...
, the Principality of Lippe
Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...
, and the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe
Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, with its capi ...
. The units of the 37th Mixed Ersatz Brigade were from the X Army Corps area, which included most of the Prussian Province of Hanover
The Province of Hanover () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946.
During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, alo ...
, the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (, also known as Holstein-Oldenburg) was a grand duchy within the German Confederation, North German Confederation and German Empire, that consisted of three widely separated territories: Oldenburg, Eutin and Bir ...
, and the Duchy of Brunswick
The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...
. The units of the 43rd Mixed Ersatz Brigade were from the XI Army Corps area, which included the Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...
(or Hesse-Cassel) portion of the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau
The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944.
Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the ...
, the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolutio ...
, the Duchies of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...
and Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day Germany, German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ern ...
, the Principalities of Reuss Elder Line
The Principality of Reuss-Greiz (), officially called the Principality of the Reuss Elder Line () after 1848, was a state in the German Empire, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. The Counts Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz and Upper-Greiz () we ...
, Reuss Younger Line
The Principality of Reuss-Gera (), officially called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line () after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. It was one of the successor states of the Imperial Cou ...
, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt.
History
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...
, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen.
History
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...
, and Waldeck, and portions of the Prussian Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.
It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...
, including the region around Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
.
Combat chronicle
The 10th Ersatz Division initially fought on the Western Front in World War I. It fought in the Battle of the Frontiers
The Battle of the Frontiers (; ; ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of French Third Republic, France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategy, milita ...
, seeing action in Lorraine and against the French defensive line from Nancy to Epinal. From December 1914 to February 1916, the division occupied the trenchlines in the Woëvre region. The division fought in the Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
in September 1916. After a period in the trenchlines in the Champagne and near Verdun, the division saw action in 1917 in the Second Battle of the Aisne
The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...
, also called the Third Battle of Champagne, and in the Battle of Passchendaele. In October 1917, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front, fighting in eastern Galicia until the armistice on that front. In January/February 1918, the division was in army reserve and was transferred back to the Western Front. It was in the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois until April 1918, when it fought in the Battle of Armentières, part of the Battle of the Lys, also known as the German Lys Offensive or the Fourth Battle of Ypres. The division remained in the Flanders/Artois region after the German offensives and faced the various Allied counteroffensives, seeing action in the late-1918 Battle of Cambrai. It ended the war fighting in the Battle of Valenciennes and in the German retreat to its Antwerp-Meuse position. Allied intelligence rated the division as third class and of moderate value.[''Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919'' (1920), pp. 188-190.]
Order of battle on mobilization
The order of battle of the 10th Ersatz Division on mobilization was as follows:[Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle''.]
*25.gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 25
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 26
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 27
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 28
**Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung/VII. Armeekorps
**Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 43 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 43)
*37.gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 37
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 38
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 39
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 40
**Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung/X. Armeekorps
**Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 42 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 42)
**Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 62 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 62)
**1.Ersatz-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 10
*43.gemischte Ersatz-Brigade
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 43
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 44
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 76
**Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 83
**Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung/XI. Armeekorps
**Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 47 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 47)
**Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 55 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 55)
**3.Ersatz-Kompanie/Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11
Order of battle on February 20, 1918
The division underwent several structural changes as the war progressed. The mixed Ersatz brigades were converted to Ersatz infantry brigades as cavalry, artillery, and pioneer Ersatz units were grouped and reorganized. The brigade replacement battalions were grouped into infantry regiments. The 10th Ersatz Division was triangularized in October 1916. Cavalry was later reduced, pioneers were increased to a full battalion, and an artillery command and a divisional signals command were created. The division's order of battle on February 20, 1918, was as follows:
References
Bibliography
10. Ersatz-Division (Chronik 1914/1918) - Der erste Weltkrieg
* Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935)
* Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937)
* Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939.'' (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993), Bd. 1
* ''Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919'' (1920)
{{DEFAULTSORT:10
Ersatz divisions of Germany in World War I
Military units and formations established in 1914
Military units and formations disestablished in 1919
1914 establishments in Germany